Ryan Waning is gathering up funny.

The inspiration, he said, was to take some of the comedy already in L-A, add more and give it a home.

He’s behind the LMAO Lounge at the Fireside Inn in Auburn, a new comedy club that kicks off Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. with double-headliners Brian Beaudoin and Ray Harrington. Waning has partnered with Fireside and changed up the space (think big city club vs. banquet hall, he says).

He plans one show a month to start, and he’ll be host. Maybe he’ll even do his snow angel impression.

Name: Ryan Waning

Age: 35

Lives: Carmel, Maine (originally from Auburn)

Married/single/relationship? A buddy of mine just described me to a single female friend of his as “super married,” which either means he is impressed with the strength of my relationship with my wife or he’s too nice of a guy to say that I’m fat.

Day job: Stand-up comedian

OK. This is a family newspaper. That said, what does LMAO stand for? It stands for “Laugh My You-Know-What Off.” And by “You know what” I mean arm. Or ascot, if you’re the type of person that wears one of those things.

What, and who, can people expect? The LMAO Lounge is going to be a fully functioning comedy club that closely mirrors some of the most notable in the business. One of the ways that we’re doing that is by really raising the level of comedians that we book to perform. Instead of seeing some of the same faces and hearing some of the same jokes again and again, we’re bringing in some of the hottest acts in the country, proving that you don’t have to travel all the way to Portland to see national level acts. Also, I’ll be hosting all the shows at the LMAO Lounge, too, so if you think I’m funny, bonus for you. If you don’t, I’m sure Larry the Cable Guy has a new movie coming out soon that you’ll love. See, everybody wins.

Good clean fun, a bit blue, or both? A bit of both, actually, depending on the performers on the show. Our goal is to bring the best acts possible to the LMAO Lounge and let them do what they do best, whether it’s squeaky clean or gas station restroom dirty.

How is the space being physically transformed into a comedy club? We’ve brought in an entirely new sound system and brand new stage lighting. I also changed the stage entirely and exchanged the old mirrored backdrop to one more suited to stand-up comedy, a brick background. We’ve also reconfigured the seating plan so that each spot has a better vantage point for the show; no more obstructed views. Some comedy memorabilia from my own collection (is) set to adorn the walls. It will remind you a lot more of a big-city comedy club than it will of a conference room, I can guarantee you that.

How are you enticing “the hottest acts in the country” to drive to Auburn, Maine? Many of my contemporaries are right on the brink of becoming big. And I’m lucky in that, by working alongside them with some of the better working comics in the country while out on the road, I get the time to get to know them. Once we start talking about the comedy scene in Maine, the crowds in particular, it’s not hard to convince them to pay me a visit. For example, our first show will feature a comic who is just returning from London and another who is going to be coming straight from Las Vegas. They were both semifinalists in this year’s World Series of Comedy, too. Our next show in May will be headlined by a comic voted the best comedian in Rhode Island two out of the last three years.

The last person to make you laugh: My wife, Kate. She was laughing so hard at my impression of our 5-year-old doing snow angels in between us in our bed while we try to sleep, I couldn’t help but get the giggles myself.

The last movie to make you laugh: “Road House.” Nothing is better than unintentional humor and, other than being forced to pay attention to the politics of our state, this piece of Swayze-magic feeds that need completely. Just “Road House” though, not “Dirty Dancing.” Anyone who speaks ill of Johnny or Baby in my presence gets dance kicked and put in the corner posthaste.

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